Cape Town Cycle Tour -some people pissed off!!

Just for the record im not upset that the biggest timed cycling event in the world, The Cape Town Cycle Tour, is shortened to only 47km..When the news broke last night on etv, I was dissapointed..but then I realised the bigger picture.

I always knew what the bigger picture was for the Cycle Tour to have a new route but no-one expected the route to be 47km…a out and back road ride..

The comments on various forums about the shortened race has sparked a fierce debate between cyclists that are very upset with this plan…whereas others are very cool and happy with it..

I think the guys that are upset by this short route announcement, had some big plans for this race…I mean, these okes are trying for Sub 3, very few of them out 35000 cyclists though…however these cyclist going for big PR’s such as Sub3, are training in the early hours of the morning, 4-5am they leave home for a 2hr ride so that they can get back home, see to the kids and go to work…they train hard during the week and put in some quality hours every week..they watch their diet…they hit the sack early…they race the weekly races on weekends in prep for this event…then its shortened to 47km…

The disgust comes in at the point where the race is 47km…if it was 80km plus maybe, going through a completely different route then this might be better for them..

The other guys thats not so much worried about the shortened route, will be riding with their partners, friends and so forth and will be out there for the spirit of the Cycle Tour and in soladarity for the fighters fighting the huge flames that has brought Cape Town to a stop, ‎#Showyoucaresolidarityride‬

I can understand the frustration of the shortened route because im one of the guys that rides early and has a family that wants to see me do well..but I also understand that in these situations, the criteria is very different and this is history, something that will be spoken about every year…similar like the year that it was so hot that the race was stopped or the year that the wind was howling non stop…

This is Cape Town, city of wind in the summer and flames…and this is cycling…when something like this happens, we accept it, change our behaviours and move on…there will always be a Cycle Tour and there will be many more races to come and many more epic stories to tell.